"The numbers are illuminating. They’re impressive if imagined as a layer of banded stacks of crisp bills inside a briefcase, but in exchange for a year of work from a highly skilled and widely recruited worker whose services will soon be worth tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed money, they’re not much! Bowen Sr. recalled receiving four substantial offers from four big programs:

"The numbers are illuminating. They’re impressive if imagined as a layer of banded stacks of crisp bills inside a briefcase, but in exchange for a year of work from a highly skilled and widely recruited worker whose services will soon be worth tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed money, they’re not much! Bowen Sr. recalled receiving four substantial offers from four big programs:

"The numbers are illuminating. They’re impressive if imagined as a layer of banded stacks of crisp bills inside a briefcase, but in exchange for a year of work from a highly skilled and widely recruited worker whose services will soon be worth tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed money, they’re not much! Bowen Sr. recalled receiving four substantial offers from four big programs:

"The numbers are illuminating. They’re impressive if imagined as a layer of banded stacks of crisp bills inside a briefcase, but in exchange for a year of work from a highly skilled and widely recruited worker whose services will soon be worth tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed money, they’re not much! Bowen Sr. recalled receiving four substantial offers from four big programs:

The money in college athletics is stagerring and saddening. Smaller programs will never be able to surmount the barrier of $ changing hands.

Western Kentucky competes in that world.

And is that what we want to become?

You play on the field that is provided or you don't get to play. If EVERYONE is doing it, how do you not? If you aren't will to play by the rules set forth, the D1 sports might not be the best option.

This is all gross, and I hate it, but if it is required to compete, and isn't just a few "dirty" programs, then I think you have to consider playing by the same rules as everyone else.

My preference would be that they would put some standards back in college football and basketball. That even at the cost of getting the best athletes, the NCAA demand that athletes be able to do the work on the academic side, and prove that they are capable students before they get to college. I would love for all of this to get cleaned up. I would be more than excited to watch good college athletes who are also students compete, and I wouldn't miss the few elite athletes who have no interest in academics for a second, but I have zero faith that the NCAA, or more specifically, the schools that make up the NCAA, have any interest in changing the status quo, and with that, I would prefer we play by whatever rules everyone else plays by instead of pretending that we are somehow better than Creighton because we don't cheat.

I wish everyone would just play fair. Its not like the rules, money, refs and everything else don't favor the P5, why do they have to cheat too. I don't even understand how these schools can be proud of their achievements knowing they cheated to make it happen.

(10-05-2018 12:05 PM)monarx Wrote: I wish everyone would just play fair. Its not like the rules, money, refs and everything else don't favor the P5, why do they have to cheat too. I don't even understand how these schools can be proud of their achievements knowing they cheated to make it happen.

Because they're not competing with (or probably even thinking much about) G5 programs or G5 as a whole. They're competing with peer institutions, some of whom apparently show the ability and willingness to buy players. If Alabama football and Duke basetball is cleaning your clock on general principle, and schools that want to get in their strata are bending or flat-out dryhumping the rules to do so, they feel pressured to keep up or get relegated to the dregs of their conference.

"The numbers are illuminating. They’re impressive if imagined as a layer of banded stacks of crisp bills inside a briefcase, but in exchange for a year of work from a highly skilled and widely recruited worker whose services will soon be worth tens of millions of dollars in guaranteed money, they’re not much! Bowen Sr. recalled receiving four substantial offers from four big programs:

(10-25-2018 07:46 PM)ODUCoach Wrote: Renardo Sidney came out and said he was paid at Mississippi State. His coach: Rick Stansbury

He was suspended from Austin Peay. Messy state fans have said he was fired bc they wanted to avoid sanctions. But WKy still try to claim his innocence

Has there ever been a doubt? People actually believe that this guy came into WKU, and signed 5 star players because he is a good coach? I'd like to meet those people.

I feel like a lot of people knew he was up to something fishy but when theres nothing to prove its hard to flap your jaws. Now that this has come to light, it backs up what a lot of people were thinking. Hopefully something comes of it but sounds like the NCAA isnt touching the situation until the FBI is done with their work. Its good to have competition within the conference but I hope Stansbury fries.

(10-25-2018 07:46 PM)ODUCoach Wrote: Renardo Sidney came out and said he was paid at Mississippi State. His coach: Rick Stansbury

He was suspended from Austin Peay. Messy state fans have said he was fired bc they wanted to avoid sanctions. But WKy still try to claim his innocence

Has there ever been a doubt? People actually believe that this guy came into WKU, and signed 5 star players because he is a good coach? I'd like to meet those people.

I feel like a lot of people knew he was up to something fishy but when theres nothing to prove its hard to flap your jaws. Now that this has come to light, it backs up what a lot of people were thinking. Hopefully something comes of it but sounds like the NCAA isnt touching the situation until the FBI is done with their work. Its good to have competition within the conference but I hope Stansbury fries.

It wont matter though. if he gets them in the top 25 for more than a week and sweet 16 or two it will be a long term program changer. WKU will then cut ties with him if he gets busted and reap the rewards for years to come.